Introduction

Fallout is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet for Amazon Prime Video.

Based on the role-playing video game franchise created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, the series stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins.

Outline

The show depicts the aftermath of the Great War of 2077, an apocalyptic nuclear exchange in an alternative history of Earth where advances in nuclear technology after World War II led to the emergence of a retrofuturistic society and a subsequent resource war. Many survivors took refuge in fallout bunkers known as Vaults, unaware each Vault was designed to perform psychological experiments on the Vault Dwellers. 219 years later in 2296, a young woman named Lucy leaves behind her home in Vault 33 to venture out into the dangerously unforgiving wasteland of a devastated Los Angeles to look for her father. Along the way, she meets a Brotherhood of Steel squire and a ghoul bounty hunter, each with their own mysterious pasts and agendas to settle.

Cast

• Main:
  • Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean, a young Vault Dweller
  • Luciana VanDette portrays young Lucy MacLean
  • Aaron Moten as Maximus, a squire of the Brotherhood of Steel who becomes an ally to Lucy
  • Amir Carr portrays young Maximus
  • Kyle MacLachlan as Hank MacLean, Lucy’s father and the Overseer of Vault 33, who originates from Vault 31
  • Moisés Arias as Norm MacLean, a Vault 33 resident, and Lucy’s brother
  • Xelia Mendes-Jones as Dane, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and Maximus’s closest friend
  • Walton Goggins as The Ghoul / Cooper Howard, a once famous Hollywood actor and Vault-Tec ambassador who mutated into a ghoul after the bombs fell and now makes a living as a gunslinger and bounty hunter

• Recurring:
  • Sarita Choudhury as Lee Moldaver, the leader of a New California Republic military division with a past connection to Hank MacLean.
  • Leslie Uggams as Betty Pearson, a member of Vault 33’s governing council, and later Overseer. Originally from Vault 31
  • Johnny Pemberton as Thaddeus, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel
  • Zach Cherry as Woody Thomas, a member of Vault 33’s governing council
  • Annabel O’Hagan as Stephanie Harper, a pregnant resident of Vault 33 and Lucy’s closest friend. Originally from Vault 31
  • Dave Register as Chet, Lucy’s cousin who is attracted to her
  • Rodrigo Luzzi as Reg McPhee, a member of Vault 33’s governing council
  • Leer Leary as Davey, a Vault 33 resident
  • Elle Vertes as Rose MacLean, a former Vault 33 resident, and Lucy and Norm’s mother
  • Teagan Meredith as Janey Howard, Cooper’s daughter in 2077
  • Frances Turner as Barb Howard, Cooper’s wife in 2077 and a Vault-Tec executive

• Guest:
  • Matt Berry:
    • as “Mr. Handy”, a General Atomics helper bot
    • as “Snip Snip”
    • as Sebastian Leslie
  • Michael Esper:
    • as Bud Askins
    • as “Brain-on-a-Roomba”
  • Michael Cristofer as Elder Cleric Quintus
  • Jon Daly as a Snake Oil Salesman
  • Chris Parnell as Ben, the cyclops Overseer of Vault 4
  • Cherien Dabis as Birdie, a surface-born resident of Vault 4
  • Dallas Goldtooth as Charles Whiteknife
  • Eric Berryman as Lloyd Hawthorne
  • Angel Desai as Cassandra Hawthorne
  • Mykelti Williamson as Honcho, a bounty hunter
  • Cameron Cowperthwaite as Monty, a raider who seduces Lucy
  • Mike Doyle as Bob Spencer
  • Michael Emerson as Dr. Siggi Wilzig, an enigmatic wanderer who aids Lucy
  • Michael Rapaport as Knight Titus, whom Maximus initially serves
  • Dale Dickey as Ma June, a cantankerous shopkeeper in the settlement of Filly
  • Neal Huff as Roger, a ghoul
  • Matty Cardarople as Huey
  • Glenn Fleshler as Sorrel Booker
  • Fred Armisen as DJ Carl
  • Erik Estrada as Adam
  • Michael Mulheren as Frederick Sinclair

Production

Development

Bethesda had been approached multiple times about a television adaptation of the Fallout video games since the developer released Fallout 3 in 2008, according to Bethesda’s Todd Howard, though he felt none of the suggestions met the vision of the Fallout series. Bethesda’s marketing executive Pete Hines had also cautioned the company in 2015 on the potential impact of a poor adaptation of their video games, saying “There’s way more things that can go wrong than can go right with this” since the adaptation’s director may override the vision of the series. Hines pointed to the example of the 2005 Doom film as an example of a bad adaptation. The situation changed when Jonathan Nolan approached Bethesda with his idea of a Fallout television series, having been an avid player of the game series. Howard found that Nolan had a clear vision for the adaptation, and agreed this approach was a good way to bring the game series to the television screen.

The television adaptation was formally announced in July 2020 under Amazon Studios (later renamed Amazon MGM Studios) with Nolan and Lisa Joy developing the work. Joy described the series as “a gonzo, crazy, funny, adventure, and mindfuck like none you’ve ever seen before”.

In January 2022, Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner were hired as showrunners for the series, with Nolan set to direct the pilot episode.

The show was confirmed to be set within the same continuity as the franchise during an interview on 28 November 2023, because Howard wanted to avoid adapting any of the previous games and sought for an original story to be told instead.

Casting

In February 2022, Walton Goggins was cast in a lead role as a Cooper Howard, a Hollywood actor who became a Ghoul after the bombs fell. In March 2022, Ella Purnell joined the cast. In June 2022, Kyle MacLachlan, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Aaron Moten joined as regulars.

In October 2023, additional casting including Sarita Choudhury, Michael Emerson, Leslie Uggams and Zach Cherry was announced.

Filming

Filming began on 05 July 2022, in New Jersey, New York and Utah. Additional filming took place in Namibia on the Skeleton Coast, including the wreck of the Eduard Bohlen and Kolmanskop, an abandoned mining town in the region. Nolan directed the first three episodes of the series, with Stuart Dryburgh and Teodoro Maniaci serving as cinematographers.

Music

In January 2024, it was revealed that Ramin Djawadi had composed a score inspired by the works of Inon Zur’s Fallout series compositions.

The television series’ first soundtrack was released by Amazon on 08 April 2024.

Release

Fallout was scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on 12 April 2024, but this date was later moved forward to be released on 10 April 2024, at 6.00 pm PT.

Trivia

• The Vault Boy imagery, which originated in the video games, will have an origin story.
• Despite Vault 33 existing in the same area the first two games are set, Vault 33 is never seen in those games.
  • While some erroneously regard this as a plot hole of the show, one of the game designers from Fallout 1, Jesse Heinig, said this: “We didn’t have a definitive list of Vaults during development of the original game, and the creation of new Vaults in southern California for the TV show 25ish years later is way outside of the scope of any of our planning… There are any number of reasons that the Master might not have any record of a Vault right under their noses, since there is no guarantee that the Master has access to an actual and complete listing of every Vault.”
• The dog that features in the series is a Belgian Malinois.
  • Known for their intellect and trainability, they work regularly with law enforcement and military.

Fallout Series

• Series 01 (2024):
  • Episode 01: The End.
  • Episode 02: The Target.
  • Episode 03: The Head.
  • Episode 04: The Ghouls.
  • Episode 05: The Past.
  • Episode 06: The Trap.
  • Episode 07: The Radio.
  • Episode 08: The Beginning.

• Series 02 (?2025):

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Jonathan Nolan … (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Clare Kilner … (2 episodes, 2024)
  • Frederick E.O. Toye … (2 episodes, 2024)
  • Daniel Gray Longino … (1 episode, 2024)
  • Wayne Yip … (1 episode, 2024)
• Producer(s):
  • James Altman … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Howard Cummings … co-producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Karey Dornetto … co-executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Kieran Fitzgerald … co-executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Todd Howard … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Lisa Joy … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Margot Lulick … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Carson Mell … co-executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Jonathan Nolan … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Noreen O’Toole … supervising producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Emil Pagliarulo … co-producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Istvan Pely … co-producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Halle Phillips … producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Geneva Robertson-Dworet … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Gursimran Sandhu … producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Stephen Semel … co-executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Graham Wagner … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Crystal Whelan … producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Athena Wickham … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Jay Worth … supervising producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Tara Shivkumar … associate producer (6 episodes, 2024)
  • Skye Wathen … producer (6 episodes, 2024)
  • Jake Bender … producer (5 episodes, 2024)
  • Zach Dunn … producer (5 episodes, 2024)
  • Jill Footlick … co-executive producer (4 episodes, 2024)
  • Samuel D. Hunter … consulting producer (4 episodes, 2024)
  • Daniel Gray Longino … co-executive producer (4 episodes, 2024)
  • James W. Skotchdopole … executive producer (4 episodes, 2024)
  • Jocelyn Magsumbol … associate producer (1 episode, 2024)
• Writer(s):
  • Chaz Hawkins … (executive story editor) (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Chaz Hawkins … (written by) (1 episode, 2024)
  • Geneva Robertson-Dworet … (created by) (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Geneva Robertson-Dworet … (written by) (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Graham Wagner … (created by) (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Graham Wagner … (written by) (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Karey Dornetto … (written by) (1 episode, 2024)
  • Kieran Fitzgerald … (written by) (1 episode, 2024)
  • Carson Mell … (written by) (1 episode, 2024)
  • Gursimran Sandhu … (written by) (1 episode, 2024)
• Music:
  • Ramin Djawadi … (8 episodes, 2024)
• Cinematography:
  • Stuart Dryburgh … (4 episodes, 2024)
  • Teodoro Maniaci … (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Alejandro Martínez … (2 episodes, 2024)
  • Dan Stoloff … (1 episode, 2024)
• Editor(s):
  • Ali Comperchio … (4 episodes, 2024)
  • Micah Gardner … (2 episodes, 2024)
  • Daniel Raj Koobir … (2 episodes, 2024)
  • Yoni Reiss … (2 episodes, 2024)
• Production:
  • Amazon Studios
  • Kilter Films
  • Amazon MGM Studios
  • Bethesda Game Studios (in association with)
  • Bethesda Softworks (in association with)
  • Big Indie Pictures
• Distributor(s):
  • Amazon Prime Video
• Release Date:
  • Series 01: 10 April 2024.
  • Series 02: ?2025.
• Running time: 45-74 minutes.
• Rating: 15.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Clip(s)